Pill’s Slightly Messy Exit From MMG

“I never signed any paperwork with Ross. It was just my deal was over at Warner already.” – Pill, MTV Interview (2012)

Industry insiders and commenters have made a heavy arsenal of comments regarding Pill since 2009. The “Trap Goin’ Ham” hitmaker was destined to be another rapper from the trap with gritty tales and a penchant for street reality to make it big. XXL projected him on their Freshmen list in ’10, Warner Bros. scooped him up in 2009 and an alignment with Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group all seemed like outstanding moves for the Pink City native.

Then something went wrong.

His 2011 mixtape The Diagnosis didn’t hit the same kind of commercial buzz that Meek Mill’s Dreamchasers got or even Wale’s double up with The Eleven.One.Eleven Theory and Ambition, his lack of on-stage appearance with the crew at the BET Hip-Hop Awards didn’t go unnoticed and his recent string of concerts have been panned for both lack of attendance & connection. Then the megabomb of the Georgia rapper appeared on Twitter in a furious rant listing off accomplishments, Wiz Khalifa comparisons and more not to mention this most recent Tweet from his @Pill4180 handle:

There are no shots at Rozay or Warner Bros. I'm just deciding to go my separate ways. Love to MMG for the opportunity.. Peace

Most armchair A&Rs will make statements regarding Pill’s exit as one of those moments where an artist was so frustrated by being overlooked by his label that he needed to make his own buzz in order to succeed. That watching his fellow MMG co-horts blow to astounding heights in the media should have propelled him to go harder in his own campaign to create a larger name for himself. It could be considered sour grapes and that he sat back and watched, thinking the label had his best interests in mind when clearly they didn’t. Pill had a buzzing single already, back when Meek Mill was still rocking braids in Philly & Wale was regarded as a hypebeast fashion rapper with wordplay and little to no hits of his own to speak of.

Things change in two years and while P-I-Double-L has surely lost some of the footing he initially had when the MMG move was made, it’s obvious he’s in some sort of career vertigo. Do we know what’s going to happen to him since he’s now a free agent? Not really but we now know Pill’s a free man, one certainly capable of making a bubbling hit record. It’s a shame he got swallowed up in the wave of Meek Mill’s two huge records & possible third on the way with “House Party”, Stalley’s emergence and the rise of Wale in his second act as a big name figure in rap.

Projections are projections, Pill can silence all the critics by answering his own projection. Question is, can he?

About The Author

Brandon Caldwell is the founder & editor-in-chief of Day & A Dream. His work has appeared in VIBE, UPROXX, Complex, EBONY, the Village Voice, the Houston Press, Houston Style Magazine, DJBooth, The Sports Fans Journal, and more. Follow him on Twitter: @_brandoc